BIRDS 

»5 AND 

FISHES 

IN 

LOUISIANA 



'GARDENS /] 




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LOUISIANA STATE COMMISSION 

j* OF j* 

LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION 

ST. LOUIS, MO. 



Governor WILLIAM WRIGHT HEARD, President. 
Major JORDAN GRAY LEE, Baton Rouge, La. 

Col. CHARLES SCHVLER, - - - Keachie, La. 

Gen. 1. B. L EVERT, - New Orleans, La. 
Hon.' HENRY L. GUEYDAN, Gueydan, La. 

Dr. WILLIAM CARTER STUBBS, ROBERT GLENK, 

State Commissioner. c4sststant to State Commissioner. 



Don't fail to sec the Louisiana State Building, a replica of the Cabildo, in which the 
transfer of Louisiana took place in 1803. 

See also Louisiana's exhibit in the following buildings: Agriculture, Horticulture, 

Education, Forestry, Fish and Game, Mines and Minerals, Liberal Arts, 

Transportation and Anthropology. 



THE STATE OF LOUISIANA IS MAKING THE FOLLOWING DISPLAY 
AT THE WORLD'S FAIR, ST. LOUIS : 



1st. Louisiana State Building — An 
exact reproduction of the "Cabildo" of 
New Orleans in Which the actual traus- 
fer i*f Louisiana from France to the 
United States on December 20th. 1803, 
took place. It is furnished throughout 
with furniture of the Empire and Colo- 
nial styles. 

Und. A grand display of agriculture 
in the Agricultural Palace, showing the 
products of the field and the machinery 
by which they are wrought Into mer- 
chantable forms. A complete sugar house, 
a rice mill, an irrigation plaut. cotton 
gins and presses, cotton seed oil mill, 
etc., are shown in perfect forms on a 
reduced scale. Forage and garden crops : 
tobacco (yellow leaf, cigar leaf and 
cigars, and the famous Periqne in all of 
its forms) ; fibre plants and products ; 
grains, grasses, clovers, alfalfa, etc., are 
Shown in prolusion. 

3rd. A fine display of fruits and 
plants In the Horticultural Building — 



on the floor of the main building and in 
the conservatory. In this display wiil 
be found the best collection of the finest 
pecans grown. 

4th. In the Forestry Building will be 
found all the trees of her forest, and the 
products manufactured from them. 

5th, In the Forestry Building, but on 
a different space, will also be found all 
of the birds, fishes and wild animals o£ 
the State. 

6th. In the Education Building will 
be found the school exhibits of the 
State, from the kindergarten to the uni- 
versities. 

7th. In the Mines and Minerals Build- 
ing, the "Devil in sulphur," a "Pyramid 
in sulphur." Lot's Wife in salt, crufl ! 
and refined petroleums, marbles, coal, 
etc., fresh from the mines of Louisiana, 
are exhibited. 

8th. In the Liberal Arts Building will 
be found topographic maps of the levees 
of the State (30 ft. by 4 ft.), New Or- 



leans of 1S03 (2 ft. by 2 ft.), and New 
Orleans 6f 1003 (15 it. by 15 ft.). Two 
hundred maps of the Gulf Coast from 
1500 to the present time, some rare old 
books, and a working model of the great 
United States Dock in New Orleans. 

9th. In the Transportation Building 
are illustrations of transportation on the 
Mississippi River, past and present, be- 
ginning with the Indian canoe and end- 
ing with the monster ocean liner of to- 
day. 

10th. Iu the Anthropological Build- 
ing is a fun' collection of Indian relics, 
including a number of baskets of rare 
au3 beautiful types. 

Descriptive pamphlets of each exhibit 
may be bad on application. For fuller 
Information 'if the State, apply at the 
Louisiana State Building for "Handbook 
of Louisiana." Louisiana has a fully 
equipped Department of Agriculture and 
Immigration, which will cheerfully sup- 
ply any Information desired. 



Apply to MAJOR )• G. LEE, Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration, Baton Rouge, La. 

and your wants will be filled. 



yfc+> 



Birds and FisKes 



By H. H. KOPMAN 






1907 

L). Ut U. 



Birds and Fishes. 



HUNTING AND FISHING IN LOUISIANA. 
By H. H. Kopman. 

THE sport of hunting and fishing in Louisiana is 
mosr mixed with other affairs of life among the 
people who live near the coast, where the Mis- 
sissippi and lesser streams have built marshes that rank 
with the most extensive and t lie most animated of any 
in the world. Gunners and anglers' sport there, every 
element considered, is an unusually attractive recrea- 
tion. It is brilliant at times, it is always sociable, and 
the guarantee of its perpetuation is in the area of the 
feeding grounds to which snipe, ducks, and other game 
birds of the lowlands are attracted by thousands, and 
to which they are destined to be attracted indefinitely 
in the future if the prudent sportsmen are able to se- 
cure and hold the position towards which they are work- 
ing. 

If from month to month, one follows the opportuni- 
ties for using gun and rod, he will find a delightful con 
tinuity, and a grading of all the phases of those pleas- 
ures. The variety of such outdoor life, the usually equa- 
ble conditions under which it is pursued, the fact that 
it need have no abrupt ending as in other parts of the 



nintry because of sharp turns in the year, are perpet- 
ual sources of satisfaction to the inveterate sportsman. 
The absence of interruptions develops in him an attach- 
ment that can never fail because so many-sided. Fa- 
miliarity with conditions may be cultivated to a high 
degree by the Louisiana sportsman, and a feeling of 
confidence and establishment that is most attractive. 
The sport permits of a placidity that is the chief thing, 
after all, that the sportsman, away from cares of all 
kinds, seeks to find. Yet one can make the character of 
his sport. It can be as arduous or as gentle as he likes. 
But whichever it be, hunting and fishing in the right 
places in Louisiana are seldom flat. Further than the 
fact that the open winters make the hunting season 
/.self very pleasant, it is to be recollected how nearly 
perfectly the hunting and fishing seasons overlap in 
Louisiana. While the less hasty migratory ducks and 
\.aders are even in the midst of their exodus, the salt 
water fishing season is already opening, and while it is 
not in full swing until June, even by the end of March 
it offers inducements well worth consideration. Once it 
is under way, it is a season of splendid sport. It holds 
its votaries by a variety of ties. The pleasant life of 
the Louisiana fishing camps, the camaraderie, the Cre- 
ole cooking, the "redfish court-bouillons," the fine 



breezes, the bright colors, and the peaceful scenes ot 
the marshes, get a lasting hold upon the fisherman. 

Moreover, to the sportsman who is heart and soul in 
his favorite pastime, it is a great satisfaction to look 
out upon the marshes and realize that they are always 
to be places for the man who carries a gun or whips a 
rod. Though other kinds of country in Louisiana afford 
excellent fishing and hunting, the marshes of the coast 
surpass all other spots where the wily fish swim, or 
where birds and other game gather. It is the extent of 
the marshes, the innumerable ramifications of water 
courses and inlets, the often swampy and little settled 
country that commonly borders them inland, that make 
the marshes so congenial a resort for the game. The 
whole coast of Louisiana is made up to a large extent 
of these marshes, which, in some instances, are slightly 
elevated, making them more like prairies, subject to 
tidal inundation. This is the case in southwestern Lou- 
isiana. This difference in the coast marshes splits the 
hunting country into two centres of abundance, one the 
lands adjacent to the mouth of the Mississippi, and 
northeastward, and the other, the great flats stretching 
between the rivers in the southwestern part of the State, 
making the district from the Sabine to the Mermentau, 
and even farther eastward, one of the greatest duck and 
geese regions in the United States. It is about Lake 
Arthur, in this corner of the State, that the glossy ibis, 
the roseate spoonbill, and other birds of rare occur- 



rence now along most parts of the Gulf Coast north of 
Florida, are still to be found in comparative abundance. 
On these marsh-prairies of the southwestern section, 
the curlews, snipe, willets and innumerable smaller 
waders are to be found in the greatest abundance during 
both spring and fall migration. 

The marshes of the southeastern parts of Louisiana 
are visited chiefly by ducks and snipe, though, of course, 
almost any of the birds found in the southwestern sec- 
lion may be found here also, though seldom if ever in 
numbers so great. The marshes of the southeastern 
section, however, are the most available as fishing 
grounds. The deep passes that connect the gulf and the 
several Inlets east and north of New Orleans, as Lakes 
Pontchartrain, Borgne, and Catherine, are frequented 
by the game fish of the Gulf, and under conditions sim- 
ilar to those experienced in fresh-water fishing, one may 
catch the full variety of choice salt-water fish, sheeps- 
head, Spanish mackerel, and red sea-bass, or "redfish," 
as the Louisiana fishermen call it, being the most abund- 
ant of the highly esteemed game fish. Still water nearly 
always prevails in these passes, though a current of 
almost incredible velocity is the rule when the tides are 
running. Such are the times, of course, when the fisher- 
men endeavor to be on hand. Hungry redfish and 
sheepshead, following the incoming tide, often furnish 
a sport unsurpassed for the frequency of action. Over 
forty "redfish," with an average weight of ten pounds. 



have been caught in about three hours at the most 
famous of these passes, the Rigolets, about thirty miles 
east of New Orleans on the Louisville and Nashville 
railroad. The excellence of these marshes as fishing 
grounds is readily conceived when one considers that 
while the devotee can fish in these streams and other 
bodies of water with the same ease as would be found in 
angling in a river or far inland lake, the source of the 
supply of fish is the wide sea, the fish that are most 
prized by the sportsmen coming up only in the warmer 
seasons from the lower strata of the deep parts of the 
Gulf, or from its more Southern waters. Thus, the 
stock of fish can never be in danger of sensible diminu- 
tion, if of any whatever. A still further advantage is 
that several of the fresh-water fish visit the brackish 
waters of the marsh bayous in great numbers, such 
streams being equally attractive to the large-mouthed 
black bass, or "green trout," primarily a fresh-water 
fish, of course, and to the spotted squeteague, or "speck- 
led trout," whose principal habitat is sea-water. 

In good weather, the fishing on the outside Gulf water 
is extremely attractive. That kind of fishing is done 
more easily towards the Mississippi coast. There it is 
that the finest Spanish mackerel fishing is to be had, 
in the almost breezeless forenoons that often occur 
during the latter part of summer, and in the early fall. 
Most of the fishermen's experience with tarpon in Lou- 
isiana waters is limited to outside water, or at least to 



bays, though occasions are not infrequent when these 
remarkable fish have been seen and hooked, and even 
sometimes caught, in the passes. The Gulf islands 
about the mouth of the Mississippi or to the eastward, 
are most interesting points for the energetic fisherman. 
The finest are Chandeleur Islands, along whose shores 
and in whose sand-bound lagoons is to be found a most 
remarkable assortment of sea-creatures. Cat and Ship 
Islands, also off the coast of Mississippi, are not difficult 
of access from the fishing points in Louisiana. Ship 
Island is a noted place for the interesting little spade- 
fish, great bait-stealers, but repaying for their annoy- 
ances when well hooked, for they make excellent fight. 
A day spent about the piling in this kind of sport gives 
one an experience full of its own peculiar circumstances. 
The fishermen find battles with sharks a form of excite- 
ment that may be had at the islands in summer almost 
any time one seeks it. There, as well as at all other 
points along the coast, the common jack-fish (Caranx 
hippos) sports at will throughout warm weather, and is 
the object of interest in more anglers' struggles than 
any other fish not a good fish; which the jack-fish fails 
to be on account of the oiliness and rankness of its 
flesh. 

It is the most unusual variety possible in Louisiana 
sport that makes it certain of never palling. Except 
that the State contains no mountains, there is no im- 
portant kind of topography lacking in Louisiana. And 



some of the central and northern sections of the State 
are decidedly hilly, elevations of 400 feet or more oc- 
curring. Encroached upon to the west by the prairies, 
Louisiana still has prairie chickens towards the Texas 
border, and the prairie lands are widely famous for the 
character of their duck and goose shooting. All through 
the centra! and northern sections, and in fact anywhere 
except upon the immediate coast, and even, in some 
cases, there, quail and turkey shooting is as good as any- 
where these days. The birds that abound in the south- 
eastern lowlands have been referred to before. The 
tlat pinewoods that extend from southern Mississippi 
into Louisiana somewhat north of the coast, and which 
ome hilly hut little farther north, delight the sports- 
man for the puie air and the-exhilirating freedom which 
permeates them. He is delighted even if he does not 
bag game every time. But properly hunted, these pine 
lands should rarly fail to give one some luck with quails 
or turkeys. The trip through them is one of pure de- 
light, and gives a rest and gratification hard to acquire 
more thoroughly anywhere else. The life through these 
woods is for the most part primitive. The hunter may 
walk half a day with little sign of life beside the game 
he seeks and smaller birds and other creatures that 
move this way and that. The calls of bluebirds, the 
sighl i if a flicker now and then, the quaint complaints 
of the little brown-beaded nuthatches that move unac- 
countably about the pines, the occasional butterfly that 



strays out upon a warm day in winter, force him out of 
whatever state of mind has been robbing him of the 
joy of natural living, and he fancies himself at the 
threshold of life again. The relaxation is perfect, the 
stimulation is nature's and so it demands no tax. 

Hunting in the marsh, also, when arranged under the 
proper conditions and with good company, is ideal sport. 
The salt, marshes east of New Orleans and stretching 
along past the Mississippi line, are most beautiful sights. 
A slender rush is the principal thing in their composi- 
tion, though cat tails, grasses, and sedges also are gen- 
erously interspersed. But the marshes do not offer an 
unbroken skyline. Woods edge them in many directions 
along their irregular borders. Bayous and coulees the 
most meandering are marked by the little oak and 
bayberry hedges. A large lagoon may lie here in clear 
view, or the marsh may be cut by a pass from the Gulf 
waters to one of the several inlets. What the hunter 
unacquainted with the country at once wishes to do is 
to follow one of the little streams, and wind with its 
many turns in hope of running in shot of game. Even 
if experience elsewhere had taught him better, he would 
probably be so dominated by this desire as to refuse the 
suggestions of his wiser ideas. The impulse of the 
sportsman on the marshes is to go on and on. But, of 
course, it is not the way to kill game. The abundance 
of the ducks does not obviate the necessity of "blinds," 
and the disposal of oneself therein at such hours as to 



be accommodated to the habits of the birds. The fisher- 
man, however, may indulge the desire for motion, ex- 
ploration. To this spirit is due the discovery of some 
of the finest black bass holes in the Louisiana marshes. 
The geography of the little bayous in that region is to 
this day a subject awaiting the energetic investigations 
of even more enthusiasts. There may yet come a man 
who will find the spot for black bass that will top all 
records, though six and even seven pounders have al- 
ready been brought from their lairs in triumph. 

An expedition through the heaviest of the swamps 
and cypress fastnesses close to the coast is a feature 
of sport in Louisiana that should by no means be over- 
looked by the visiting lover of hunting and fishing. It 
is apt to result not in the destruction of much game, 
but in the possession of an experience most singularly 
absorbing and indescribably unique. One probably goes 
with some guide of nondescript nationality, but nowise 
repugnant, who has spent his days in precarious hunting 
and fishing, logging, woodchopping and trapping. The 
things one sees in the way of life hardly fall within the 
category of game, but the guide has some use to suggest 
for many of them. He values a "grosbec," or night- 
heron, about as much as the "correct" sportsman does 
a pintail, or a snipe in the pink of condition. The fact 
that he can bring down the handsome "beccroche," or 
white ibis, with considerable ease does not cut the edge 
from his real hunter's gusto. Possession is his creed, 



and he does not consider very closely the ways in 
which it comes about. Other birds there are, of course, 
for which he can find no use. Having the woodsman's 
interest in almost everything of the outdoors, he would 
probably cast more than one glance at the curious water- 
turkey, or snake bird, that festoons its incoherent mem- 
bers from the upper branch of the tallest of a cluster 
of dead cypresses. So would the tourist be interested. 
it makes him feel certain that whenever he wants to 
work his mind entirely off his business or cares, he 
should plunge into the depths of a Louisiana swamp. 
There is no place more odd, or more thoroughly sepa- 
iated from the average notions we hold of things. The 
genius of the swamps is a thing alone in nature. 

Everywhere that one goes in the swamps he will not 
see its prominent pictures, but from point to point, as 
they lie scattered over the landscape, the strength of 
their individuality dominates the entire country. They 
are finest where swamp borders marsh, worked out by 
streams that look as though their surface had never 
been troubled by storm or cloudy shadows, but that 
seem to have been spread motionless for centuries in 
mirroring the bright Louisiana skies. Then cypress and 
live oak, overhanging shadows soft and deep, if it be 
not mid-winter, set the marks of infinite repose by the 
banks of the lowland stream. The course of the heron, 
the day-long sailing of the vulture across the wide-vault- 
ed sky, the languid voice of the blue yellow-back, and 



the quicker sound of a large fish that swirls in the wa- 
ter, give the mind just the strain of life and movement 
chat perfects the environment. 

The chances for the hunter-naturalist in Louisiana are 
very inviting, as will be found the case both on account 
of the character of material for study, and of the con- 
di Lions that govern its composition. There are no ver- 
tebrate animals in Louisiana peculiar to the State, but 
many forms highly interesting occur there, and the 
groups of life display aspects many of which are not 
observable elsewhere. Seme species occurring in the 
neighboring States are not to be found in so large num- 
bers in parts of Louisiana, while other species are 
abundant to an extent impossible to find elsewhere in 
this country. The peculiar mixed nature of the cli- 
mate, combined with a topography not duplicated, cre- 
ates many interesting studies in distribution and in 
habits. 

The development of higher animal life in the unique 
part of the State is greatest in the case of salt-water 
fish, reptiles, chiefly turtles and harmless snakes, and 
water-birds. Fresh-water fish and mammals are found 
in reasonably large numbers within the State, but there 
is a distinct lack of abundance in these creatures in 
many sections. Reference is had, of course, to species, 
and not to individuals, as some fresh-water fish, such as 
buffaloes, gars, and catfishes, black basses and sunfiishes 
are exceedingly abundant. The same is true of a few 



| mammals. There is no dearth of upland birds in many 
parts of the State, but the securely established kinds 
of upland birds are not many more in number than the 
winter visitors and the transients. 

A LIST OF THE MOST ABUNDANT AND MOST CHAR- 
ACTERISTIC FISH, REPTILES, BIRDS AND MAM- 
MALS FOUND IN LOUISIANA. 

Southern Stingray (Dasyatis sabina). 

Short-nosed Gar-pike (Lepisosteus platostomus). 

Alligator Gar-pike (L. tristoechus). 

Mud-fish, or Shoupique (Amia calva). 

Mississippi Cat (Ictalurius furcatus). 

Mud Cat, Goujon, or Yellow Cat (Leptops olivaris). 

Sea Cat (Hexanematichthys felis). 

Gaff Topsail (Felichthys marinus). 

Small-mouthed Buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus). 

Tarpon, or Silver-fish (Tarpon atlanticus). 

Gulf Menhadden (Brevoortia patronus). 

Common Mullet (Mugil cephalus). 

Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus). 

Jack-fish (Caranx hippos). A splendid fighter. 

Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus). 

Sac-a-lait, white, or chinquapin, perch (Pomoxis amu- 
laris). 

Warinouth Bass (Chaenobryttus gulosus). 

Sunfishes, or "perches" (Apomotis cyanellus, A. sym- 
metries, Lepomis auritus, L. miniatus, and L. pallidus). 



Large-mouthed Black Bass (Micropterus salmoides). 

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus). 

Spotted Squeteague, or "Speckled Trout" (Cynoscion 
nebulosus). 

Silver Squeteague, or "White Trout" (C. nothus). 

Red Sea-bass, or "Redfish" (Sciaenous ocellatus). 

Croaker (Micropogon undulatus). 

American Whiting, or "Ground Mullet" (Menticirrhus 
Americanus). 

Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigmus). 

BATRACHIOUS AND REPTILES. 

"Blind Eel," or "Conger Snake" (Amphiuma means). 
Bull Frog (Rana catesbiana). 
Horned Snake (Farancia abacura). 
Black Runner (Zamenis constrictor). 
Live Oak Snake (Coluber conflnis). 
Long's Garter Snake (Eutaenia sirtalis). 
Graham's Water Snake (Natrix grahamii). 
Banded Water Snake (Natrix fasciata fasciata). 
Holbrook's Water Snake (Natrix rhombif era) . 
Diamond Ratlle Snake (Crotalus adamanteus). 
Banded Rattle Snake (Crotalus horridus). 
Copperhead (Ancistrodon contortrix). 
Water Moccasin (A. piscivorus). 
Green Lizard, or "Chamelon" (Anolis principalis). 
Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes asper). 
Alligator Snapping Turtle, Loggerhead, or Caouane 
(Macrochelys lacertina). 



Mudbox (Cinosterum Louisianae). 

Florida Cootcr (Pseudemys concinna). 

Troost's Mobilian (Pseudemys troostii). 

Cumberland Terrapin (Pseudemys elegans). 

Diamondback (Malaclemmys centrata). 

Box Turtle (Terrapene major). 

Gopher (Xerobates poIyphemus). 

Alligator (Aliigator Mississippiensis). 

The day of the extremely large alligator in Louisiana 
seems to have passed. The hunters, guides and fisher- 
men seldom report larger than ten-footers, and it has 
been as long as twenty years since the report of a 15- 
foot alligator in Louisiana has been verified. This is 
due, of course, to the settlement of all except the 
marshes and swamps of the State, so that the hunters 
and professional woodsmen have found bases of opera- 
tions to reach every marsh and swamp in the State, and 
the large alligators have fallen victims to the rifles. 
Smaller alligators appear to be as abundant as ever. 
The last hundred miles of the Mississippi form, of 
course, the center of abundance of the alligator in 
Louisiana. 

BIRDS. 

Most important of all birds found in Louisiana, from 
the hunter's standpoint, are the ducks. Ducks are found 
in the State chiefly in winter, of course, or, to be more 
accurate, they are found in greatest numbers at the 
beginning of winter and at its close. The heavy flights 



are in October and November, and in the latter part of 
January and the early part of February. At those two 
seasons, respectively, the ducks bound South, and the 
ducks bound North, pass through the State in myriads. 
Taking all seasons together, they are found regularly 
in Louisiana, or there have been found from time to 
time, all but six of the 33 species of ducks occurring 
regularly in North America. The six exceptions are 
Barrow's Golden Eye, the Harlequin Duck, and the four 
American species of eiders. Thus the ducks of Louis- 
iana include the Cinnamon, Teal, the Long-tailed Duck, 
and the several species of Scoters, or Surf-Ducks. Aside 
from the true ducks, both species of Tree-Ducks are 
found in the State, the Fulvous and the Autumnal, the 
former the commoner. All the principal geese, with 
the possible exception of the true Brants, not such as 
are called "brants" by the hunters, visit parts of Louis- 
iana in abundance, and the two American species of 
Swans, the Trumpeter and the Whistling, are visitors 
to the Gulf. 

Game birds among the waders are secondary only to 
the ducks. Snipe and woodcocks, tattlers, curlews, 
plovers, red-breasted snipe, and the larger sandpipers 
sometimes classified as game, occur in abundance in the 
extended feeding grounds of the coast. Rails abound 
as well, and even one of the herons, the Yellow-crowned 
Night Heron, is sometimes shot, being known as the 
"Grosbec." 



Characteristic birds of the State, and all its ducks, 
and many of its waders, given in the order of their 
natural classification, are found in the following list: 

Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla). 

Royal Tern (Sterna caspia). 

Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri). 

Least Tern (Sterna antillarum). 

Black Tern (Sterna nigra surinamensis). A charac- 
teristic migrant. 

Black Skimmer (Rynchops migra). 

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), Water-turkey; Snake- 
bird; Bec-a-lancette. Swamps on the edges of lakes, 
large ponds, sloughs, or sluggish streams, are frequented 
by the astonishing water-turkey. It is a resident in the 
State, and in the proper localities is as common towards 
the northern part of Louisiana as near the Gulf. The 
summit of a tall, water-side cypress is a favorite post 
for the water-turkey. Its dark, slender, curiously shaped 
form includes so many characteristic points that a 
water-turkey, once seen, will never be forgotten. From 
its elevated position it will often dive directly to the 
water, and at other times, when it sees one approach- 
ing, it will mount from its perch and will soar in widen- 
ing circles over the swamp. The water-turkey nests in 
trees or bushes over the water, and the young usually 
drop from the nest to the water for their first experi- 
ence of the world. 

Florida Cormorant (Phalacrocorax dilophus florida- 



nus). Called "Nigger Goose" in Louisiana, and rather 
common. 

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus fuscus). The Brown Peli- 
can, though not the bird selected as the original of the 
State seal, is the common pelican in Louisiana. It is 
never found far from the coast, and when it does move 
away from the actual coast line, the bodies of water 
selected are the salt, inlets of the Gulf. In summer 
the Brown Pelican is very common on many parts of the 
coast. The view usually obtained of the pelicans con- 
sists of well-drilled, single-file flocks that fly close to 
the water short distances from the beach, always hunt- 
ing for schools of small fish, into which they dive to 
secure their prey. 

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynh- 
cus). The White Pelican occurs in Louisiana only in 
winter, being found in either salt or fresh water. 

Man-o'-war bird (Fregata aquila) ; Frigate-bird; Storm- 
bird. The flight of the slender but powerful Man-o'-war 
bird is one of the finest sights of the Louisiana coast 
in summer. The soaring of the Man-o'-war excels even 
the gracefulness of the Turkey-buzzard. In strong 
winds sometimes as many as a score of them will be 
seen in various directions high overhead set on differ- 
ent "tacks," and pointing truer and statelier than any 
ship that ever sailed. Though they often fly at a high 
speed, repose is never lacking in their movements, and 
there is always a fixedness and a sureness in their 



course that shows their power to cope with any wind but 
a raging tempest. The force of the Gulf storms, how- 
ever, sometimes drives them a considerable distance 
inland, and during very heavy summer storms, Man-o'- 
war birds have been seen in New Orleans. 

THE DUCKS OF LOUISIANA. 

American Merganser (Merganser Americanus Cass). 

Red-breasted Merganser (Merganser Serrator Linn). 

Bec-scie de Mer. ' These two diving ducks, or "saw- 
bills," are not among the well-known ducks of the State. 
They are usually found on the coast during the severest 
spells of winter weather. The name applied by the 
Creoles to the Red-breasted Merganser, bec-scie de mer, 
indicates the difference between these salt water loving 
birds and the following species, the common bec-scie of 
Louisiana. 

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes Cucullatus Linn) ; 
Bec-scie; Saw-bill. 

The Hooded Merganser, one of the handsomest of 
American ducks, is a common winter resident of Lou- 
isiana, where it is considered practically unfit for food, 
but noted for the high rate of speed it attains in flight. 
It is occasionally killed by expert shots who are anxious 
to test their skill. 

Mallard (Anas boschas Linn) ; French Duck. On the 
lakes and bayous of Louisiana, in Winter, the Mallard 
becomes probably as abundant as in any part of the 



-world. Owing to its strong flight and fine size, it is a 
favorite game bird and a good seller in the markets, 
despite the fact that the flesh at times proves "fishy." 
Mallards are found in Southern Louisiana in greatest 
numbers from the early part of October until about the 
beginning of February. 

Dusky Duck (Anas Obscura Gmel) ; Black Duck; 
Black Mallard. Neither particularly well known in Lou- 
isiana, nor recognized by its correct name, "Black Duck" 
being a term reserved for the Ring-necked Duck in Lou- 
isiana, a favorite table duck. 

Florida Black Duck (Anas obscura fulvigula Ridg) ; 
Canard des Isles. This is one of the two species of 
ducks that breed regularly in Louisiana, the other being 
the Wood Duck. 

Gadwall (Anas slrepera Linn), Gray Duck; Canard 
Gris. The Gadwall is one of the customary ducks shot by 
hunters in the winter. It is present in greater or less 
abundance from October until March, and is associated 
with Mallards. Pintails, Widgeons, Scaups and Green- 
winged Teals. 

Bald-pate (Anas Americana Gmel): American Wid- 
geon; Zin-zin. 

This duels is not as common as the Gadwall, but is 
naturally associated with it. 

Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis Gmel); Sar- 
celee d'Hiver; Cognotte. 
The green-winged Teal is one of the commonest of the 



ducks of Louisiana. The first arrive in the State about 
October first, with the van of the great flights of ducks 
that settle upon the marshes after the first cool days 
of real fall. While the species is probably commoner in 
Louisiana at that time than at any other, a great num- 
ber remain throughout the winter. The return passage 
of Green-winged Teals through the State, and the de- 
parture of those that have remained in Louisiana all 
winter takes place before spring is very well advanced. 

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors Linn) ; Sarcelle print- 
anniere; Printanniere; Spring Teal. 

The migratory movements of the Blue-winged Teal in 
Louisiana furnish one of the liveliest chapters in the 
hunter's book. Probably no one kind of game comes 
so near attracting the undivided attention of the sports- 
men at one particular time as do the "Printanrileres" 
when passing through Louisiana in late spring from 
the Mexican and Central American waters, in which 
the bulk of them winter. The spring flight of Blue- 
winged Teals reaches Louisiana the middle or latter 
part of March, and continues in great proportions until 
the early part of May, some of the birds lingering even 
until after the middle of that month. 

Besides being the last duck to leave in spring, the 
Blue-winged Teal is the first to appear in the fall, some- 
times arriving before the middle of September. By the 
time the winter ducks of Louisiana have become most 
abundant, the majority of the Blue-winged Teals have 



passed southward. A few remain in Louisiana all 
winter, however. 

Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera Viell). 

This uncommonly handsome duck, made so striking 
by its generally bright reddish brown body and the light 
electric blue of the wing specula, is a bird of decided 
rarity in Louisiana. Specimens have been taken in tL- ■ 
State from time to time, however, and a male collected 
in Lake Borgne, January, 1900, is now in the museum of 
Tulane University. 

Shoveller (Spatula clypeata Linn); Spoonbill; Mi- 
coine. 

The male Shoveller is sometimes killed in Louisiana 
in that beautiful plumage that makes it one of the mos-i 
beautiful ducks. This, of course, is most apt to be in 
the early fall, or late in spring, especially the latter. 
as Shovellers often linger very long in Louisiana, even 
appearing among the heavy spring flights of Blue 
winged Teals. They are least common in mid-winter. 
Practically the only English name for them in Louisiana 
is Spoonbill." 

Pintail (Dafila acuta Linn) ; Sprig-tail; Paille-en -queue. 
The hunter in Louisiana has few favorite ducks on which 
he lavishes as much praise as upon the Pintail. It is a 
reliable duck there, in every sense, and with the "Black 
Duck" ranks after the Canvasback. It is one of the 
ducks that continue moderately abundant all winter, 
though, of course, large numbers winter south of Lou- 



isiana, and it is their passage in fall and at the close of 
winter that makes such splendid sport. 

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa Linn) ; Brancheur. 

Wood duck hunting is a thing apart from other duck- 
hunting, as the haunts of the bird are quite different, and 
the seasons of abundance not the same as in the case 
of the river and bay ducks. The law framed by the 
General Assembly of Louisiana in 1902 permits the kill- 
ing of this species in August and September. The 
French name of "Francheur" is given to this duck on 
account of its habit of perching and nesting in trees. 

Red-head (Aythya Americana Eyt) ; Violon. 

About the mouth of the Mississippi is the district for 
Red-heads, as well as for the Canvasbacks. There they 
are decidedly common. 

Canvasback (Aythya Vallisneria Wils) ; Canard 
Cheval. 

The reputation of the Canvasback is by no means di- 
minished in Louisiana by its feeding habits there, which 
are practically the same as in the case of the famous 
Chesapeake Bay birds. The Canvasback in Louisiana, 
as in other sections, is not as plentiful as some bon 
vivants would have it, but it is certainly not on the 
wane, and in the past few years more than a usual num- 
ber appear to have been seen and killed by the hunters, 
especially about the Delta of the Mississippi. 

American Scaup (Aythya Marila Stejn) ; Blue-bill; Dos 
Gris de Mer. 



The larger of the two .scaups is not the commoner, 
.and is more of a coast bird than the following common 
species, as the French name in Louisiana indicates., 

Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis Eyt) ; Little Blue-bill; 
Dos Gris. 

This duck probably outnumbers all others in Louis- 
iana in winter. It is positively useless as an article of 
food to any one with normal development of the gusta- 
tory faculties. Notwithstanding, negroes and other un- 
discriminating persons kill and eat a good many, and 
shooter.;, who would not eat them, sometimes kill the 
birds on the general principle of bringing down some- 
thing. 

Ring-necked Duck (Aylhya Collaris Donov) ; Black 
Duck; Canard Noir. There is probably more to say in 
favor of "Black Ducks" than of any species killed in 
Louisiana, except the Canvasback. Their flesh is usu- 
ally delicious. But they are not as abundant as some 
less choice kinds. They generally remain in fair num- 
bers in midwinter, but are commonest in the middle 
fall, and again at the breaking up of winter. 

American Golden Eye (Clangula, Clangula Americana 
Bonap). 

A fairly common duck in Louisiana, but not shot very 
frequently. 

Buffle-head (Charitonetta Albeola) ; Butter-ball, Mari- 
onette. 

Butter-balls are shot usually mure as objects of curi- 



osity, or to test cleverness with shotgun, than as birds 
of which use can be made as food, as they are practi- 
cally inedible. 

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula Hyemalis Linn.) This 
curious duck of the North was taken in Louisiana the 
very cold winter of 189S-I899, during a severe blizzard 
and snowstorm. 

Surf Scoter (Oidemia perspisillata Linn). This bird 
Is only a rare winter visitor, as are the two following 
species : 

Black Scoter (Oidemia Americana Sw. and Rich.) 

White-winged Scoter (Oidemia Deglandi Bonap). 

Ruddy Duck (Erismatura Jamaicensis Gmel). This is 
a common but worthless duck that visits Louisiana in 
rather large numbers. It is called "Marteau" by the 
French. 

Blue Goose (Chen Caerulescens Linn). A coast bird 
in winter. 

Lesser Snow Goose (Chen hyperborea Pall). Common 
on the coast in winter. Called "White Brant." 

Greater Snow Goose (Chen Hyperborea Nivalis Forst). 
Not as common as the preceding. 

American White-Fronted Goose, or Speckle-Belly 
(Anser albifrons gambeli Hartl). Common in winter 
in the localities haunted by other geese. 

Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis Linn). No less 
common in Louisiana than elsewhere. 

Fulvous Tree Duck (Dendrocygna Fulva Gmel). Fairly 



common for awhile in the fall, and even at other 
seasons, but not in very cold weather. 

Autumnal Tree Duck (Dendrocygna Autumnalis Linn). 
Rare in southwestern parts of the State. 

Whistling Swan (Olor Columbianus Ord.). Of irreg- 
ular occurrence on the Gulf in winter. 

Trumpeter Swan (Olor Buccinator Rich) Movement s 
about the same as those of preceding. 

Roseate Spoon-bill (Aiaia Aiaia). Now confined chiefly 
to heavy and well-watered swamps of the southwestern 
section. 

White Ibis (Guara Alba); Beccroche; Spanish Curlew. 
Abundant in nearly all wet sections. 

Wood Ibis (Tantalus Loculator). Locally distributed, 
but abundant in several sections. 

Least Bittern (Ardetla Exilis). This curious diminu- 
tive bird of the heron tribe is common in all marshy 
sections of the State, but disappears in winter. 

Great Blue Heron (Ardea llerodias). Abundant in 
Louisiana as elsewhere. 

American Egret (Herodias Egretla). Common, espe- 
cially in summer. 

Snowy Heron (Egretta Candidissima). Has become 
very rare, but is protected at Avery's Island, and is 
found even in other localities. 

Louisiana Heron (Hydranassa Tricolor Runcollis). 
Not as common as several other species, but well dis- 
tributed throughout the southern part of the State. 



Little Blue Heron (Florida Coerulea). Abundant in 
summer, but strictly migratory, as is the preceding. 

Green Heron (Butorides Virescens). Common in. 
summer. 

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctinassa Violacea). 
Abundant in summer. 
"T Sandhill Crane (Grus Mexicana). More common in 
the western parts of the State. 

King Rail (Rallus Elegans). Abundant, chiefly in 
fresh marshes. It is a good table bird, but too easily 
brought down to be of much interest to the sportsman. 

Purple Gallinule (Ionornis Martinica) ; Blue Rail; Ral 
Bleu. One of the most beautiful of all Louisiana birds, 
and one that should be safe from the gunner. 

Florida Gallinule (Gallinula Galleata). A characteris- 
tic marsh bird in Louisiana, and distinguished from the 
coot, or "poule d'eau," by the Creole hunter's name of 
"ral poule d'deau." 

Woodcock (Philophela Minor). There are many good 
woodcock grounds in the State, but the birds are com- 
monest in the coldest weather. Nevertheless, the spe- 
cies have been found breeding in the State. 

Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago Delicata). Louisiana has 
some incomparable snipe grounds, and in the fall, in 
October, and in November before it grows too cool, and 
again in March and April, the snipe-shooting is the very 
finest. The famous German shot, Pringle, made his in- 
excusable but astounding record of 305 birds in one day 



17 



on the prairies about Cyprernort, in South Central Lou- 
isiana. 

Red-breasted Snipe, or Long-billed Dowitcher (Mac- 
rorharnphus Scolopadceus). This bird is known by Cre- 
oles as "Dormeur," and is often common in migrations. 

Bartram's Sandpiper (Bartramia Longieauda) ; Upland 
Plover; Papabotte. In its biennial migrations, the fa- 
mous papabotte visits Louisiana in large numbers, and 
is considered one of the greatest of game delicacies. 

Long-billed Curlew (Numenius Longirostris). In the 
t.i. --re remote parts of the coast, Long-billed Curlews 
are often plentiful, and the other species occur as well, 
as do the Golden Plovers. The Kildeer Plover is, of 
course, a common bird everywhere in winter. 

Bob-White, or Virginia Quail. Normally plentiful in 
all sections. 

Wild Turkey (Meleagris Galapavo Silvestris). Pine 
woods districts, as a rule, are the best for turkeys, 
though the birds are found in nearly every kind of coun- 
try, including the little oak and bayberry thickets that 
run out from the woods into the coast marshes of the 
southeast. 

Mourning, or Carolina, Dove (Zenaidura macroura). 
The Dove is very common in many parts of the State. 

Turkey Buzzard (Cathartes aura). 

Black Vulture, or Carrion Crow (Catharista Urubu). 

Swallow-Tailed Kite (Elanoides Forficatus). A 
splendid hawk, commonest near the coast. 



Mississippi Kite (Ictinia Mississippiensis). 

White-Headed Eagle (Haliaetus Leucocephalus). Oft- 
enest seen near the coast. 

Barn Owl (Strix pratincola). Particularly fond of de- 
serted sugar houses in the southern section. 

Barred Owl (Syrnium varium). The commonest of 
all Louisiana owls. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). 

Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis). Re- 
st ricted to the pine barrens, and in that kind of country 
found pretty well distributed over the State. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Centrurus carolinus). A 
characteristic woodpecker of the swampy sections. 

Chuck-wiil's-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis). A 
summer resident, and commonest in the pine sections. 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Milvulus forficatus). This 
characteristic bird of the Southwest invades Louisiana 
from Texas, and is fairly common in the western part of 
the State, but is rare at New Orleans. 

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) Ricebird; Reed- 
Mrd; Ortalon. Compared to the Red-winged Blackbird, 
i he Bobolink is a stranger in Louisiana, the Red-wing 
i eing the recognized "Ricebird" of Louisiana. In the 
middle of the fall, however, the Bobolinks are very com- 
mon for a while. 

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Rice- 
bird. Red-wings occur in myriads in the marshes of the 



Southern part of the State. In winter they fiesert the 
marshes for the shelter of the swamps and wet woods. 

Boat-tailed Grackle (Megaquiscalus major). This 
large blackbird, or "Chock," as natives call it, is charac- 
teristic of the coast marshes. In winter the species re- 
tires somewhat inland to feed in bare fields. 

Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Redbird. Whether 
Cardinals were formerly more abundant in Louisiana, 
they are at the present writing among the most numer- 
ous birds of the State. In the height of spring, when the 
nesting season is beginning to have full swing, hun- 
dreds upon hundreds may be seen in a single day's walk 
in the low woods of the Southern part of the State. 
They are protected by law except against those who 
catch them for "domesticating purposes." 

Painted Bunting (Cyanospiza ciris). Nonpareil; Pape; 
Red Pop. The favorite cage-bird of Louisiana, the beau- 
tiful crimson, green, and Prussian blue creature, is still 
abundant in all southern sections of the State, especially 
on plantations, and in tree-dotted pastures and prairies. 

White-bellied Swallow (Tachycinetta bicolor). No 
swallow is ever so abundant in Louisiana as this glisten- 
ing bird. It does not breed in the State but is present 
by thousands in spring and fall. 

White-eyed Vireo (Vireo noveboracensis). This cheer- 
ful little warbler and whistler is one of the most con- 
stant and noticeable songsters of the swamps and moist 
woods of the State. Its sharp, eccentric notes are cer- 



tain to hold the attention. It is common only from 
spring to fall. 

Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea). The 
slaty blue and golden Prothonotary is one of the gayest 
of the birds of the swamps, and is abundant from the 
end of March until the end of September. It nests in 
the stubs and rotten trees in the swamps. 

Swainson's Warbler (Helinaia swainsonii). A species 
until the past twenty years considered almost the rarest 
of North American birds is now proved to summer in 
fairly large and regular numbers in the river bottoms of 
the State where wild cane grows. 

Parula Warbler (Compsothlypis americana). The 
Blue Yellow-back is a summer bird of great abundance 
about New Orleans, but less common as a breeder in 
other sections. 

Hooded Warbler (Sylvania mitrata). This warbler is 
essentially a bird of the swamps and moist woods of 
Louisiana. Its favorite haunts in the southeastern sec- 
tions are spots to which the Swainson's Warbler is at- 
tracted. 

Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus). Still the pride of 
the State, and about as abundant as ever in most sec- 
tions, though not seen so frequently in New Orleans. 
The Mockingbird is a species with which every stranger 
wishes to become acquainted at once, and in the accom- 
plishment of that purpose, he will find little difficulty. 

Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). Probably 



the ofteuest heard bird in the State is the Carolina 
Wren, as it is at home both in the woods and in gardens. 

Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla). This is one 
of the species common to the pinewoods sections, where 
it is abundant. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher tPolioptila coerulea). A di- 
minutive bird of great interest is the Gnatcatcher, 
which is common in spring and until the middle of sum- 
mer. It is a characteristic bird in live oaks. 

American Robin (merula migratoria). The stranger 
from the North will be surprised to find the Robin con- 
sidered a game bird in Louisiana, a condition of affairs 



to be attributed to the French settlers, who brought 
with them the European custom of eating many small 
birds that became fat and well flavored. Efforts are 
being made to exclude the Robin from the list of game 
birds. Despite the number of Robins killed every year, 
the species comes South in apparently equal abundance 
every winter. 

Other small birds shot in Louisiana in fall, when they 
become fat on magnolia seeds, are Woodthrushes and 
Catbirds, known as "Cailles," and Kingbirds and Red- 
eyed Vireos, known as "Grassets." Efforts are being 
made to protect all these small birds. 



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